Award winning author to visit Nevada

Thursday, October 16, 2008

NEVADA, Mo. -- "Of the 83 books I have on reserve, probably half of them are hers," Nevada High School Library Media Specialist Ranea Schulze said, pulling three of Ellen Hopkins popular yet unnerving novels about dark issues like drug addiction or suicidal behavior from the reserve stack behind her.

Hopkins, whose novels have earned awards and have held a prominent slot on the New York Times best seller list, is coming to Nevada on Oct. 20, to talk with students and the public about her books from the writing process to the "stories behind the stories," sharing some of her own personal experiences that inspired books like "Crank" and its sequel, "Glass", novels loosely based on her own daughter's addiction to crystal meth.

These novels, done completely in poetic verse, are books that even many young people who couldn't exactly be described as avid readers -- quite the opposite, in fact, at times -- seem to devour quickly. Schulze said that one student confessed he hadn't read a book since eighth grade, but he'd finished one of these novels in three days.

Others, she confessed, say they didn't especially like it.

"I think if you're someone who has a good, storybook life at home, perhaps you can't really relate to something like this," Schulze said.

In "Crank" the meth-addicted young woman becomes pregnant. In the sequel, she gives birth but continues to use.

"That's a place where, as a parent, I had to put it down for a while. It just made me so mad. How can you do that when you have children?" Schulze said. But she finished the book, nevertheless, and it's obvious she's glad she did.

Hopkins has a long list of other books, both fiction and non-fiction in an eclectic mix.

Given the fact that some of Hopkins books have reached such heights of success, "I think we're really lucky to be able to have her come here." It's coming about in part because of Hopkins' reasonable fee for doing so, and in part because the public library, Cottey College and the Drug Free Schools program all pitched in to help. Cavener's Library and Office Supply also donated some of Hopkins' books to the public library, and her books are available for sale at Cavener's.

Hopkins' Web site, www.ellenhopkins.com, also offers insight to her willingness to visit the schools. On the site, she said, "A major goal is reaching out to young adults through my novels, letting them know they're not alone in their problems and discussing ways to make better decisions than my protagonists often do. There is help for kids caught up in drugs, abuse or thoughts of suicide. I have become a voice for this generation and appreciate the opportunity to speak to groups of young adults." While she's here, Hopkins has a full schedule, starting in the early morning on Oct. 20, when she'll speak to Nevada High School juniors and seniors, then again to freshman and sophomore students.

At lunchtime she'll meet with students in the NHS media center, then it's off to Heartland Behavioral Services to speak to high school students there.

Those events will be geared toward high school students; later in the day, public events are scheduled.

From 3:30 to 4:15, she plans to be at the Nevada Public Library for a book signing event.

That evening, a public book signing also will be conducted in the Haidee and Allen Wild Center for the Arts, at Tower and Austin, Nevada, from 7:30 to 7:55, after which she will make a presentation in the auditorium at that location, offered free to the public.

"I imagine that in the evening presentation, there will be more about her experiences, more of the things maybe parents need to hear," Schulze said.